What is East Guildford Confederation?

What is East Guildford Confederation?

The Government has a long-term vision for schools to be at the centre of the community, offering a range of activities and services to help meet the needs of children, their families and the wider community.  Already schools focus on the Every Child Matters outcomes to be healthy; stay safe; enjoy and achieve; make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being. To help achieve these outcomes, every child should have access by 2010 to the Core Offer of Extended Services:

  1. Parenting support including advice, information, parenting sessions and family learning
  2. Swift, easy access to targeted and specialist services such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health
  3. A varied menu of activities outside the classroom
  4. Childcare – either offering or signposting families to high quality childcare
  5. Wide community access to ICT, sports and arts facilities

 

It is difficult for many individual schools to provide all of these services but by working together in confederations, it is possible to share facilities, staff, training and expertise. Through the Confederation website, parents can also access local information and sources of advice, particularly regarding childcare. The Confederation is also able to link effectively with a whole range of agencies who can support children and their families.

The Confederation receives DCSF funding for extended services which is allocated by Surrey County Council according to an agreed formula. Additional funding to help meet the cost of the Home School Link Workers has been provided through the government Parent Support Advisor project and secondary school grants for this purpose.

By establishing locally based networks and meeting identified needs in the East Guildford area, we have been able to reduce costs to schools for training and also meet the needs of schools and families.

Almost all Surrey schools now belong to a confederation with Cranfold (Cranleigh), West Guildford, Woking, Effingham Learning Partnerships and Godalming being the neighbouring confederations and close partners.